Hinata propped herself against some nearby rubble as she observed the miracle before her eyes. The sky above her ruined village was filled with shooting, green lights and all around her fallen comrades came back to life as the lights struck them.

All of a sudden a different light came at Hinata. She felt a burn in her eyes right before she lost conciousness.

The others barely caught sight of the lilac light before it got to Hinata and Tenten reacted just in time to catch Hinata as she slid sideways. She tried to shake her awake, but it didn't work.

'Hey, Hinata! Wake up!' she yelled. 'Sakura, what's wrong with her?'

Sakura placed her hands in front of Hinata, a green chakra glow appearing around them. Her brow furrowed.

'I don't know. Physically, she's okay. It's most likely just exhaustion.'

Tenten nodded, but the worried expression didn't leave her face. Neji decided to intervine.

'Anyway, let's get out of this ditch,' he knelt down beside his cousin and scooped her into his arms. 'It seems everything is over now so we should find somewhere for her to rest.'

Everyone agreed and they all jumped out to the outer ridges of the village that were still intact. After they found a space free of rubble to lay her down on a makeshift bed of their jackets, they split up. Neji, Tenten and the other Hyuuga clan member opted to stay with Hinata until she woke up, while the others went to greet Naruto upon his return.

Naruto had come back to the village and been congratulated by everyone. He'd never been happier. Everyone had acknowledged him. He was getting closer to his dream of becoming Hokage. He was a hero.

A startling thought crossed his mind. Hinata! He hadn't seen her in the crowd. Everything had calmed down now and medical tents had been set up to treat the wounded. Was she still badly hurt? Was she... could she have..? No... Katsuyu had already told him she wasn't. But still. He needed see that she was okay. And... talk about some things.

A red tint covered Naruto's cheeks as he remembered her words. He quickly shook his head.

This is not the time to be thinking of that. I have to find Hinata. I should ask someone. Oh...there's Sakura. She'll know where she is.

Naruto rushed over to where his pink-haired teammate was speaking to a fellow med-nin.

'Sakura-chan! Where is...' His question was interupted by a hard punch to the face.

'Naruto! Interupting someone's conversation is rude! Don't get cocky just cos' you saved the village!'

Naruto cradled his swelling cheek. Sakura-chan is so cruel.

Sakura smiled at the med-nin and excused herself politely. Only to me though he thought self-pityingly.

'So, what is it that you want?' she asked impatiently, frowning at him with one hand on her hip. Naruto sobered and dropped his hand from his face.

'Where is Hinata? Is she okay?' he asked.

Sakura's face softened and she smiled. 'She's fine, just tired out,' she flipped through the pages of the clipboard in her other hand. 'If you want to see her go down that way, she is in the second tent on the right.' Sakura pointed in the direction of the medical tents. 'But try not to-'

Naruto didn't hear the rest of what she had to say as he was already going full speed towards the tents.

'Really,' Sakura sighed, shaking her head. He's the same as always, even at a time like this. She turned away from where Naruto was running. 'Well, whatever!' she said and got back to work - she had a lot of patients to attend to.

Hinata opened her eyes. They felt dry and the sudden exposure to light didn't help the lingering pain she felt in them. She blinked a few times, allowing them to ajust. She stayed lying down but her eyes scanned the room, checking out her surroundings. She was in a large tent. And there seemed to be a lot of other people there too. Those suffering from injuries and the med-nins who were treating said injuries.

Hinata gathered her thoughts. She had been injured in her fight with Pein, but she had lived. And so had Naruto-kun. Which meant more than she could ever say.

Just as he had appeared in her thoughts, he also appeared at the entrance of the tent. Hinata turned her head to the sound of his voice calling her. She felt an instinctive smile form, then she remembered her last words to him and the smile turned into an embarassed blush.

She wasn't ready to face him just yet. She briefly considered feigning sleep. But then he spotted her and his face lit up with a smile. Hinata felt ashamed for considering such a cowardly method.

'Hinata!' he called, moving to her bedside and pulling over a nearby stool to sit on. 'There you are. I was looking for you!'

She smiled at him, momentarily forgetting her embarassment at having confessed her feelings for him. Hinata tried to sit up, but a sharp stab in her side made it difficult. She felt a strong arm gently help her into a sitting position.

'Don't push yourself,' said the owner of the arm, his face unusally serious. 'You were seriously injured. You could of...of...' He couldn't even bring himself to say it.

Hinata's heart started to beat rapidly and she was suddenly accutely aware of his hand, still curled around her arm. She could feel its warmth through her jacket. A blush crept onto her cheeks and Naruto, noticing it, glanced down at were they touched then swiftly removed his hand, a red hue staining his own cheeks. He was clearly remembering the same thing that she was.

'Hinata, I-' Whatever he was about to say was cut off by a med-nin that had suddenly appeared beside them. She hadn't even noticed him approach.

She cleared her throat to get their attention. 'Excuse me but it's time for Hinata-san's check-up. I'm going to have to ask you to leave.'

At first Naruto looked like he might refuse, but then he clearly thought better of it and got up to leave. 'Bye, Hinata. Feel better soon, okay?'

Hinata just nodded, not trusting herself to speak. She was too caught up in her relief. Though she had confessed, it had been in the heat of the moment... when she thought they both might die. She was by no means mentally prepared to hear his answer.

It wasn't until the med-nin had finished her examination and Hinata had settled back down onto the bed that she began to regret not hearing what Naruto had to say. But still... she had confessed!

I did it. After all these years I finally told him how I feel. And with that thought Hinata fell asleep with a smile on her face.